Penn State (7-2) vs. Indiana (5-4) Game Preview

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It would take a minor miracle – Michigan has to lose to Iowa or Indiana before losing to Ohio State – but if the Nittany Lions win out and if they can get to the Big Ten Championship and win it, at 11-2, yeah, they’ll be in.

The team is playing well at just the right time, starting with the comeback win over Minnesota and highlighted by the thriller over Ohio State, and now it has to get through the relatively easy road games at Indiana and Rutgers before what now seems like a home game layup against Michigan State.

Indiana still has Purdue at the end of the fun to get bowl eligible, but next week it has to go to Michigan. Lose this, and it’ll be a tense few weeks to get to that sixth win. But first, the Hoosiers have to try being consistent enough for a full 60 minutes to pull off a home upset that would shake up the Big Ten chase.

The IU offense might not be as explosive or as deadly as last year’s, but it’s still terrific and it’s still efficient. Against Penn State, though, it’s going to be about stepping up defensively to slow down the red-hot attack.

Saquon Barkley is one of the nation’s hottest backs, running for over 100 yards in three of the last four games, and over 200 yards in two of those three. He’s a big play back in all phases – they need to use him in our passing game more – hitting the 1,000-yard rushing mark in last week’s blowout win over Iowa.

But he’s going to be challenged by an Indiana defensive front that’s doing far more to get into the backfield, with 28 of the 54 tackles for loss on the year coming in the last three games.

Can the IU defense hold up enough to let the offense keep up the pace?

Absolutely.

The Hoosiers might have been struggling over the last few weeks, but they’ll crank up the offense to get into a shootout. But in the end, the Penn State lines will come up with another good game, and the momentum will keep on rolling in what’ll be a dogfight of a battle.